Best Travel Advice You Wish Your Mother Had Given You

There is nothing worse than arriving at your vacation destination and shampoo is covering all of your belongings. Avoid spills and other suitcase
disasters with these tips from experienced travelers.

Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel suggests wrapping perfume bottles in socks and packs them inside her sneakers. Another variation on this idea is to place breakables in a plastic bag and them slide them into your slippers.

Some savvy travelers put a layer of plastic kitchen wrap between the cap and the opening of the bottle. It is also known that stowing liquids packed in resealable bags lined on the bottom of a suitcase stay protected from breakage, since the bottom of the suitcase is usually padded, and the clothes on provide even more padding. It is not a foreign notion to place waterproof gear such as a rain poncho or wind pants on top of liquids.

Always remember the 3-1-1 rule when packing your on flight bag. You can carry on one quart size clear resealable plastic bag filled with liquids and gels in containers of three ounces or less.

The secret weapon for experienced travelers is vaseline petroleum jelly. The vaseline can be used as lip balm, cuticle cream or moisturizer so purchase the smallest size when traveling. The drugstore miniatures of shampoo and conditioner cost next to nothing and leave your hair much softer than the hotel shampoos.

It is a well known fact that certain items in hotel rooms never get cleaned. The trouble spots are the television remote control, telephone, and clock radio. When you arrive pull out a package of antibacterial wipes and clean those items. And while reputable hotels provide fresh linens, bedspreads might be cleaned only once every few months. It is best to ask for clean blankets as soon as you arrive.

It is no secret that crime is common in hotels. The new twist is that some hotel thieves now take just one credit card when they find a wallet in a room and leave everything else untouched. Often, the victim does not even notice the card is missing until the credit line is maxed out. Only travel with credit cards you really need and check our wallet carefully if you accidently leave it unattended.

Even in elite hotels, luggage can be stolen right off the luggage carts in the lobby. And worst of all the hotel assumes no responsibility for the loss. If your bag is going to sit from more than a few minutes, ask that it be placed in a secure room. It is always recommended to keep valuable items in a hotel safe. High end luggage usually impresses fellow travelers and hotel thieves. The cheaper or uglier your luggage looks, the greater the odds that a thief will target someone else.